Audio systems generally employ at least two and, particularly for surround sound applications, four or more loudspeakers. The positioning of these loudspeakers, while to some extent being dictated by desired audio performance, is also dictated by available space at the site where the audio system is located and by aesthetics. While the latter two considerations sometimes result in the loudspeakers being flush mounted in for example a wall or ceiling, such mounting can be time consuming and expensive, significantly reduces the ability to reposition a loudspeaker if desired and can also result in heat management problems where the loudspeaker is in a confined space. Flush mounting of a loudspeaker in a wall or ceiling may also make it difficult to angle the loudspeaker for optimum sound quality and three-dimensional imaging.
However, in order to find space for the loudspeakers at the optimum locations for audio performance, particularly in surround sound applications, it is frequently necessary to mount the loudspeakers in corners, for example at the junction of two walls, at the junction of a wall and ceiling, at the junction of a wall and floor, or at a three-way junction where two walls and either a floor or a ceiling come together. Alternatively, it may be desired to mount a loudspeaker to a wall very close to either a ceiling, floor or adjacent wall. Space and aesthetics considerations may also dictate various orientations for a loudspeaker when mounted. It may also be desirable in some applications to merely stand the loudspeaker on a floor, piece of furniture, or other surface, the orientation of the loudspeaker when so positioned again being dictated by the required position and angle for optimum sound performance, by available space and by aesthetics.
While various prior art loudspeakers and loudspeaker mounting brackets have been available, most have been designed for use with the loudspeaker in only a single, or at most a limited number of, positions and/or orientations, and different hardware has sometimes been required where the loudspeaker is to be mountable in different positions and/or orientations. This either requires that the loudspeaker be packed with a variety of hardware to accommodate different potential mountings or that each loudspeaker be packaged for only a limited range of uses. The former increases the cost of each unit shipped and also increases the size and weight of the product shipped, and therefore shipping costs. The latter results in a requirement for stocking additional inventory and can result in inventory mismatch problems.
Much of the hardware currently used for surface mounting loudspeakers is also not well designed from an aesthetic standpoint, the brackets for example being substantially visible for the mounted loudspeaker, thus detracting from the overall aesthetics of the loudspeaker as mounted. A further potential problem is that many of the brackets require that the loudspeaker be slid or fitted into the bracket by being moved in a direction having a substantial component parallel to the mounting surface. This may limit the ability to mount the loudspeaker close to an adjacent ceiling, floor, or wall.
A final potential problem is that loudspeakers generally contain a name or logo plate of the manufacturer, which plate should have the same orientation on a mounted loudspeaker regardless of the loudspeaker orientation. This requires that the orientation of such a plate be easily changeable without otherwise affecting the aesthetics or functionality of the loudspeaker.
A need therefore exists for an improved surface mounted loudspeaker construction which permits the loudspeaker to be mounted in substantially any location and/or orientation, including close to ceilings, floors and walls, with only a single set of mounting hardware, which hardware is not substantially visible and does not detract from the aesthetics of the loudspeaker when the loudspeaker is mounted in any of its permitted locations and orientations. The design should also facilitate the placement of the loudspeaker on a surface, for example a horizontal surface such as a floor or furniture top, in a variety of orientations. Finally, regardless of the orientation of the loudspeaker, it should be possible to easily adjust any name or logo plate on the loudspeaker so that it is properly oriented for the particular loudspeaker orientation.